FRANK SLOAN

Full Name: Frank Sloan

Born: 26 December 1904

Came from: Shield Muir Celtic   Went to: Luton Town

First game: 19 April 1924   Last game: 08 February 1936

Appearances: 213 (213/0)   Goals: 50

Scotsman Sloan was born on Boxing Day 1904 in the village of Chapelhall, near Airdrie in North Lanarkshire. Prior to signing for Argyle, he played locally for Shieldmuir Celtic, where he was spotted by manager Robert Jack. A teammate of Sloan's at the time was Jimmy Healy, who later joined Sloan at Home Park.

A luxury player in his day, he was blessed with wonderful technical ability but was held back by perceived laziness. He made his debut on Good Friday 1924 and went on to play the final five matches of the 1923-24 season, scoring four goals, including a hat-trick in the final game, a 7-1 win at home to Southend United. He also scored a hat-trick in the second game of the 1927-28 season at home to Bristol Rovers in his 50th appearance for the club. Another memorable goal was another final-day match, versus Watford at Home Park in the 1929-30 season when he scored in a 2-1 win in front of 23,459, as Argyle sealed the Division Three South championship.

His skill and commitment with the ball were without question but his work rate was often the subject of criticism. As such, he made a relatively low 213 appearances for the Pilgrims in his 13 years with the club, and lacked a truly concerted, stable spell in the side. He should probably have made far more appearances over such a long period.

The arrival of another inside-forward, Jack Smith, in 1935 suggested that the 30-year-old's days were numbered at Home Park, and in February 1936 he left the club to join Luton Town, becoming part of a three-man same-day transfer to Kenilworth Road. Sloan found it difficult to force his way into Luton's first team, but did appear twice in the FA Cup 4th Round against Sunderland in 1937 and was regarded as the Man of the Match in both games.

Sloan played seven times and scored once in just over a season for the Hatters before he was released in the summer of 1937. Turning down an offer from Yeovil, he returned to Plymouth to take up employment at Devonport Dockyard, and played in the P&D (Plymouth and District) League Division II for his works team, Welburn Athletic. In 1938 he played for Plymouth Argyle 'A' (Argyle's third team) in the P&D Division I, and in January 1939 he was promoted to Argyle's Reserves for matches in the Southern League

Sloan's connection with Argyle continued into the 1940s with a fund-raising match in September 1941 between an ex-Argyle XI and Plymouth City, in aid of the Plymouth Air Raid Relief Fund. (There is more about this match, including a team photo, in Greens on Screen's History of Argyle *here*). He then became a member of the club's groundstaff, and served until the early 1960s.

The Sloan association with Home Park continued to endure as Frank's son Francis reported for many years on Argyle matches, under the nom de plume, 'Spectator', in the local Sunday Independent newspaper.

Frank Sloan passed away in April 1976.